Man, 27, is 9th Malaysian to be arrested for alleged role in scams in March

A 27-year-old Malaysian man was arrested on Tuesday (March 24) for his alleged involvement in a case of government official impersonation scam. 

He is also the ninth Malaysian to be arrested for similar cases in March alone. 

In a statement on Tuesday, the police said they received a report from a 29-year-old male victim who got a call from an unknown person claiming to be from telco M1. 

The unknown person told him there was an issue with his existing contract. 

After the victim denied having any M1 account, the unknown person claimed that the victim's identity could have been misused. 

The call was then transferred to another person, who claimed to be an officer from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

The "officer" informed the victim that he was under investigation for identity fraud and money laundering, and was required to prepare cash of $9,000 to be handed over to the authority for investigation. 

He was also warned that he would be arrested if he failed to comply. 

Out of fear, the victim handed over the money to the suspect in the vicinity of Ubi on March 21. 

The 27-year-old Malaysian was identified and arrested by officers from the police's Anti-Scam Command on Tuesday. 

Fake identification passes were also seized as case exhibits.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had allegedly been tasked by unknown individuals, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect cash and valuables from scam victims and hand them over to other unknown persons.

The suspect will be charged in court on Wednesday with the offence of assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct. 

If found guilty, he may be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to $100,000, or both. 

Increasing trend of Malaysians assisting scam syndicates

On March 21, two other Malaysian men — the sixth and seventh cases this month — were also arrested for the same offence. 

The duo were charged in court earlier this week. 

The police said they have observed an increasing trend of Malaysians travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from victims. 

They reminded would-be perpetrators that anyone involved in scams will be dealt with in accordance with the law. 

Members of the public are also reminded that government officials will never ask anyone to transfer money over the phone, request bank details, transfer a call to the police, or instruct anyone to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores. 

If in doubt, they may call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799. 

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editor@asiaone.com